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eZine IssuesenCopyright (C) 2009-2011 eZineSpace.com, All rights reservedMon, 21 Jan 2019 22:47:36 GMTDon’t Mind the Gap – Top 3 Reasons to Consider a College Gap Year from Education Consulting Services for Study in USA, UKhttp://www.ezinespace.com/educationconsultants/dont_mind_the_gap__top_3_reasons_to_consider_a_col.html
The concept of taking a gap year
has been around for a long time, but lately the popularity of the gap
year is increasing as high profile students such as Malia Obama opt to
take a year out before joining Harvard. According to some reports, there
has been a 23% increase in gap year students in the US as of 2016. In
fact, more and more prestigious colleges and universities are strongly
advocating students take a gap year before joining college. Harvard has
seen a 33% increase in gap year students, and even MIT has seen a
substantial increase in the number of students opting for a gap year.
Institutions such as Tufts, Princeton and The University of North
Carolina even have service-based gap year programs and fellowships built
into their admissions process. If you haven’t thought about it yet,
here are three reasons to get you thinking about why a gap year might be
an excellent idea to consider –

Better Equipped:
According to a 2015 survey conducted by American Gap Association, 98%
students felt that a gap year helped them develop as an individual, 97%
felt it increased their maturity and 77% felt it helped them discover
their purpose in life. 73% felt a gap year also increased their
readiness for college. Often, taking a year off helps a student become
more confident, adaptable and independent, while also discovering what
direction to head academically and professionally.

Better Performance:
Taking a gap year prevents students from feeling burnt out after an
intensive high school experience – rejuvenation goes a long way. In
fact, Robert Clagett, who was previously a senior admissions officer at
Harvard, pointed out in an interview that students who take a year
between high school and college tend to have a .15 to .2 increase in
GPA. And, contrary to popular myth, taking a gap year does not
demotivate a student from pursuing a college education – 90% return to
college within a year!

Valuable Experiences:
Often a student can use a gap year to immerse themselves in various
experiences, ranging from travel and volunteer work to an internship and
research project – these memorable experiences can help you develop
important capabilities, including career-related skills such as time
management, find their true passion and calling, and enhance
communication skills, perspective and exposure to the real world. Author
of Gap to Great,
Andrea Wien spoke with many students who took a gap year and mentioned
there are three key characteristics researchers have identified in gap
year students, “supporting/cooperating, leading/deciding and
adapting/coping,” which are integral in the long-run.

One student I worked with, Utsav
Gupta, spent his gap year interning at Reva Auto Industries, working
toward solving air pollution woes in Delhi, alongside also working at a
student-run startup called WorkTeen as a Data Collector and later Head
of Operations (Delhi); he also participated as a founding member,
Director of Finances and Regional Head (North India) of South Asia
Foundation of Youth (SAFY) to work toward uniting the youth of
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. “My
gap year provided me a glimpse into the real world,” shared Gupta.
“While I had started my gap year as a hardcore STEM supporter who looked
down on ‘softer’ subjects, I found that they were really the glue
holding our world together. My interpersonal skills improved vastly, as I
was forced to come out of my comfort zone. My stint at SAFY honed my
negotiation skills; my job at WorkTeen taught me about the power of
presentations and business pitches. During my internship at Reva, I
gained practical skills, by using relevant technologies and was immersed
in the application of coding.

While a gap year is not necessary for
everyone, it certainly offers many advantages, especially if there are
experiences and projects you want to try out before jumping into a three
to four-year college program and committing to a particular academic
major. As Gupta aptly puts it, “I
strongly recommend taking a gap year … according to me it has been a
year at the ‘University of Life’ that helped me develop the elusive
‘well-rounded personality’ that highly-selective schools seek.”